Global Mobile-Security Market Worth $14.4B in 2017: Report

As mobile devices become even more ubiquitous and store more personal and corporate data, new tools to secure the information will drive the mobile-security market.

The tremendous popularity of
mobile devices and their subsequent appearance in the workplace means
organizations have to worry about data-stealing malware as well as the danger
of lost and stolen devices.
The increased risk to
personal and corporate data is an opportunity for the mobile-security industry,
and the global market for mobile security is expected to reach $14.4 billion by
2017, market research firm Global Industry Analysts said in an Aug. 24 report.
Issues such as data breaches, unauthorized access to and loss
of personal information stored within the mobile phone, malware
and malicious applications all highlight the need for comprehensive mobile
security.

The report, "Mobile
Security: A Global Strategic Business Report," reviewed trends for all
major geographic markets, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, the
Asia-Pacific, Latin America and others. Analysts also examined trends in
mobile-security client software and in mobile-network-security appliances and software,
which includes integrated security appliances, content security gateways and
intrusion-detection/-prevention systems.

"Security
issues have taken on extreme importance in recent years," Global
Industry Analysts said in the report.
The "evolution" of
smart mobile computer devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants,
smartphones and tablet PCs into tools commonly used for both business and
personal use presents a "tremendous opportunity" for the global
mobile-security market, the firm said.
Mobile-application
development is a relatively new field, and technologies for securing mobile-application
code are immature, analyst Chenxi Wang wrote in a recent Forrester Research
report. Vulnerabilities in mobile code, flawed application architecture or
improper handling of credentials can lead to embarrassing data breaches,
network intrusions or hacker attacks, Wang said.

Mobile-security client software
is currently the fastest-growing market as security vendors roll out mobile
antivirus, Web-filtering and other applications for smartphones and tablets.
Global Industry Analysts estimated that the market would grow by more than 53
percent between 2008 and 2017.
Mobile devices have been
transformed into "a multi-faceted multi-tasking, multimedia device,"
delivering tools for personal expression, enterprise computing and
entertainment, the firm said. Mobile devices are now used for video conferencing,
storing documents and media, sending and receiving email messages, online
banking and shopping and other entertainment purposes.
While the productivity
benefits are "undeniable," the new capabilities and features
"open up new apertures for risks," according to Global Industry
Analysts. The threat of malicious applications compromising the mobile device
and accessing key information stored within poses significant risks to the
organization and is "a perfect business case for mobile security."
The biggest gains in mobile
security will be in the Asia-Pacific region, driven primarily by "robust
demand" for mobile devices in emerging countries, such as China and India,
according to Global Industry Analysts.
Mobile networks are also
experiencing "exploding data traffic" as a direct result of the
"exponential rise" in the number of Internet-connected mobile
devices, the company said. Customer demand has also forced mobile-network
operators to stop restricting users to a set of default services provided by
the carrier and instead give them access to all services and content on the
World Wide Web. Mobile operators have to balance the seamless integration of
proprietary networks and the entire Internet with security and privacy concerns
that inevitably would arise, according to the analysts.
"Mobile-network
providers will therefore come under increased pressure to invest in mobile-security
appliances and software to protect both their networks as well as network
users," the analysts wrote.